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Party food

No sleepover would be complete without a few girly snacks and they'll never sleep on an empty stomach plus the excitement of the party!

So here's some real treats, some healthier than others.

Some of the recipes are in cups, so if you'd like the UK equivalents please look at this handy page we found:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/BritishEquiv.htm

Snacks

Popcorn

From
http://www.planet-science.com/outthere/diner/meal/popcorn.html

Popcorn is fun to make and very economical. After you've popped your popcorn the choice of flavouring is up to you - salt, sugar, butter or perhaps caramel sauce.

Just ensure you have a large saucepan with a lid, as a little popcorn goes a long way. This recipe is enough for 1 big or 2 smaller portions!

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan until the oil just starts to smoke.
  2. Put the popcorn into the saucepan and quickly cover with the lid.
  3. Shake the pan as the popcorn starts to erupt. If nothing happens put back on the heat briefly.
  4. If you are feeling brave, lift the lid slightly so that the steam can escape (or use a vented lid).
  5. When the popping has just about stopped (just one every few seconds) remove the pan from the heat and take the lid off.
  6. Once it has cooled, tip it into a bowl and add your favourite topping:

    Try

What’s happening?

Popcorn starts to erupt...

Popcorn has a hard outer casing and a starchy inside. The heat partially cooks the starch, but water that is trapped inside cannot escape easily because the outer casing is hard.

The water turns to steam, and eventually enough pressure builds up to break through the casing, allowing the steam to rush out. The starchy insides quickly expand, producing the puffed popcorn.

Steam can escape

If the steam that escapes from the corn cannot leave the saucepan then the puffed corn may absorb the water, making it less crisp and light.

Take home tip

When cooking in oil, it's important to make sure it is heated to the correct temperature before putting the food in. If it is too cold, then the food will absorb a lot of the oil and become heavy and greasy. If the oil is too hot, then the outside will burn before the inside is cooked.

Coloured popcorn

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan and boil for 3-4 minutes.
  2. Stir well and pour syrup over the popped corn and stir until evenly coated with the syrup.

Be careful when handling syrup, as it's very hot!

Sugar crystal kebabs

Activity taken from
http://www.somerfield.co.uk/site/kids/funscience/index.asp

What you need:

What to do:

  1. Pour 200ml (1 1/3pint) water into a saucepan and boil.
  2. Carefully add 600g (1lb 5oz) of sugar. Turn off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved (for about 15 minutes).
  3. Allow the solution to cool for at least half an hour, stirring from time to time.
  4. While the solution cools, take a tall glass and make a circle from cardboard that will sit on top.
  5. Push a wooden kebab stick through the centre and set the cardboard disc on top of the drinking glass. Adjust the stick so the end inside the glass is about 2 1/2cm (1 inch) from the bottom of the glass.
  6. Once the solution has cooled, remove the disc and stick and pour the solution into the glass. Fill to about 2 1/2cm (1 inch) from the top. Any left-over solution can be used for another crystal.
  7. Place the card with the stick back on the glass and put it in a safe place where it will not be disturbed.
  8. After 1-2 days you will see crystals forming on the stick. For the next three weeks, more will appear. When they stop growing, they're ready to eat!

The white stuff we know as sugar is sucrose, a molecule composed of 12 atoms of carbon, 22 atoms of hydrogen, and 11 atoms of oxygen (C12H22O11). Like all compounds made from these three elements, sugar is a carbohydrate. It’s found naturally in most plants, but especially in sugarcane and sugar beets—hence their names. If you look closely at dry sugar, you’ll notice it comes in little cubelike shapes. Actually the crystals are not cubic but are oblong in shape with angled ends. These are sugar crystals, orderly arrangements of sucrose molecules. Sucrose is made up of two simpler sugars: fructose and glucose. If the sucrose is split it cannot crystallise properly because the molecules of glucose and fructose are different shapes and get in the way. This is used to an advantage in the confectionery industry when noncrystalline products like lollipops or toffee are required. In toffee the addition of fats such as butter also mess up the crystallisation process by preventing the sucrose molecules from locking together in a crystal lattice. Good job too! We like our toffee SMOOOOOOTHHH!

Taken from
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html

For more tips on crystal growing
http://rockhoundingar.com/pebblepups/growcryst.html
http://www.xray.ncsu.edu/student_xtal.html

Chocolate fondue – say no more!

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Put the chocolate, milk, cream and orange zest into a pan and gently heat until melted.
  2. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a serving dish.
  3. Serve the fruit, marshmallows etc. alongside the chocolate fondue mix.
  4. Dive in!

Talking of crystals and crystallisation … have you heard of tempering chocolate? Tempering is a process of melting and cooling chocolate. Different fat groups in chocolate have different melting points. The tempering process stabilizes the cocoa butter (fat) crystals found in chocolate so that they become more uniform in size. This important for the texture and properties of chocolate. If you want to have a go and make more choccy yummies in the process then check out
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/
exploring_chocolate/activity.html

Why do we love chocolate so much? Who cares? Just pass another box over. The sugar in chocolate sparks the release of a nerve chemical called serotonin and might lower another nerve chemical called NPY; the end result is a sense of well-being. The sweet taste also releases endorphins in the brain, giving us an immediate euphoric rush. The fat in chocolate enhances flavour and aroma and satisfies another nerve chemical called galanin, thus curbing our cravings for fat. Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, compounds that provide a mental boost, and phenylethylamine, or PEA, which stimulates the nervous system, increases blood pressure and heart rate, and is suspected to produce similar feelings experienced when a person is "in love."

From an article called “Why do I crave chocolate?”
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/41/1671_52404

For more scrummy chocolate facts have a look at The Science of Chocolate
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/chocolate/addictive.shtml

And speaking of falling in love…

Science of falling in love
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/index.shtml

The Nail Bar

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Cut all the crusts off the bread
  2. Flatten the bread slightly with a rolling pin to make it more pliable
  3. Spread a slice of bread with the filling of your choice.
  4. Roll it up like a Swiss roll and use the blade of the knife to make three indentations across the ‘finger’ to make joints
  5. Add an almond to the tip fixed with a bit of spread as a fingernail.  Alternatively use slivers of carrot, tomato or cucumber.
  6. Make a plate of sweet and a plate of savoury fingers and decorate them accordingly. Use writing icing to do ‘nail art’ on sweet fingers.  Make rings from circles made from radish or carrot or use writing icing to ice them on the fingers.

What is nail varnish made from and how does nail varnish remover work? Nail varnish is made from a mixture of pigment and plastics like polyester.  In order to make it liquid and therefore easier to apply it is dissolved in a solvent called propanone or acetone as it is commonly known.  This has a distinctive smell! When your nail varnish is drying the propanone evaporates off leaving a hard finish. When you want to remove the varnish you need to redissolve it so you use propanone again as the nail varnish remover.  Fortunately, because fingernails are made of protein, not plastic, they will not dissolve in the nail varnish remover. Good job too!

During the Ming Dynasty, polish was made from a combination of beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dies and Arabic gum. The polish we use today can give its thanks to the car industry. Today's polish is a refined version of car paint.

Nail polish was invented about 5000 years ago by the Chinese with the favoured colours being red and black. The Egyptians apparently used to dip their fingers into orange henna.

Anatomy of a fingernail

Your nails are made up of layers of keratin — a protein that's also found in your hair and skin. Each nail is comprised of several parts, including:

Your nails grow from the area under your cuticle (matrix). As new cells grow, older cells become hard and compacted and are eventually pushed out toward your fingertips. Nails grow at an average of one-tenth of an inch a month. The nails grow faster on your dominant hand, and they grow more in summer than in winter. Nails are also permeable, which means they let in liquids that come in contact with them.

Beautiful Smiles

from Annabel Karmel’s Complete Party Planner

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice.
  2. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple if not serving immediately.
  3. Place mini marshmallows on one slice of apple.
  4. Lay another slice of apple, peanut butter side down, on top to create a smile.
  5. Add an apricot to form a tongue if you like. Now - Say cheese!

How many teeth do you have? If you are 3 – 5 years old and have all of your baby teeth you should have 20 teeth in your mouth.  If you are older you may be missing one or two or have one or two more!  An adult will have 32 teeth.

Pooh! Cheesy feet!

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Make feet templates out of cardboard.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6
  3. Grease a large baking tray with the butter.
  4. Sprinkle a little flour on a clean work surface and roll out the pastry.
  5. Prick the pastry with a fork to stop it rising during baking.
  6. Place the feet templates on the pastry and cut round them.
  7. Place the feet on the baking tray.
  8. Beat the egg with a fork and brush over the pastry.
  9. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
  10. You may like to decorate the toenails with a little tomato ketchup.
  11. Bake for 10-15 mins. Cool on a wire tray.

Feet smell because animals, including humans, produce chemicals called pheromones that identify us as individuals. Feet smell bad when very tiny plants or animals grow on our skin. They are called microbes which means small life. They are everywhere. The microbes that make feet smell bad have very long names. One is called Brevibacteria-linen. Another is Corybacteria JK. Many microbes are members of those families and when they grow they're smelly.

We can wash some of them off. But microbes duplicate on and on, so we can't ever get rid of them. When something has been cleaned of all microbes, we say that it's sterile. But microbes always get back in eventually. Microbes are just about everywhere - at least on this planet. We are protected from most of the bad ones by our bodies' immune system.

Edible necklaces

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Use a large blunt needle to thread the treats.
  2. Make a selection of healthy and sweet versions.
  3. Alternatively provide all the items in small bowls and let the guests make their own.

Star surprise

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Cut the cheese into thick slices and use a small star shaped cutter to cut stars from each colour cheese.
  2. Thread a star followed by a cherry tomato, another star and a chunk of cucumber on a skewer.
  3. Arrange the skewers into the foil-covered grapefruit and place on a plate.

Marshmallow and grape kebabs

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Thread a black grape followed by a marshmallow and a green grape on a cocktail stick.
  2. Arrange the sticks into the foil-covered grapefruit and place on a plate.  

Pink Meringue Shells

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 110oC/225oF/gas1/4.
  2. Whisk the egg whites until firm.
  3. Carry on whisking, adding 1 tablespoon of the sugar at a time and using up half the sugar.
  4. Using a wooden spoon, fold in the remaining sugar together with a few drops of the pink food colouring.
  5. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 15 mm (1/2 in) star nozzle.
  6. Pipe about 40 small shell shapes on to baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper.
  7. Bake the meringues in an oven for about 1 hour 40 minutes or until crisp.
  8. Arrange the meringues on a wire rack to cool.
  9. Whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks and use it to sandwich together pairs of meringue shells.
  10. Use edible silver balls to look like pearls in the middle of the open shells.

How are pearls formed? As the oyster grows in size, its shell must also grow. The mantle is an organ that produces the oyster's shell, using minerals from the oyster's food. The material created by the mantle is called nacre. Nacre lines the inside of the shell. This iridescent coating is more commonly known as mother of pearl.

The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It's like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl.

From
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question630.htm

Meringues

What is going on?

One minute egg whites are a gloopy clear liquid and the next minute they are like fluffy white clouds! Eggs contain both water and protein, and protein is made up of amino acids. Some amino acids are hydrophilic (attracted to water) and some are hydrophobic (repelled by water). When you add air through beating egg whites, the protein molecules uncurl so that the water-loving parts immerse themselves in the water and the water-hating parts can stick out into the air. This is due to denaturation. These rearranged proteins then bond with each other, creating a network that holds the air bubbles in the whipped egg whites in place.

From
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
cooking/icooks/11-03-03.html

Why not add sugar at the beginning?

Adding sugar at the beginning can double the time you have to whip the egg whites to get a foam. That’s because the sugar molecules get in the way of the egg proteins. With sugar molecules in the way, it takes longer for the proteins to find each other and form bonds.

When meringue is cooking, sugar helps keep it stable by bonding with water molecules and preventing them from escaping as water vapour. Delaying the evaporation of water from the foam helps keep the foam stable until it stiffens.

From http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/eggscience.html

Denaturing explained Planet Science Diner Style:
http://www.planet-science.com/outthere/
diner/why/de_protein.html

BREAKFAST IDEAS

Yawn! Streeeeeeetttch! What time is it? WHAAAT!! Never! What a brilliant time we had last night! Now what’s for brekky?

Tooty Frooty Smoothie

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Place the banana, juice, milk, vanilla, and ice cubes in the blender. Cover and blend until frothy.
  2. Pour smoothie into 2 glasses.

Banana Blender

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Pour the smoothie into a large glass and garnish with a banana slice. Serves 1.

Carrot and Pineapple Muffins

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
  2. Sift together the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Beat the oil, sugar and eggs until well blended. Add the grated carrots, crushed pineapple and raisins. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating just enough to combine all the ingredients.
  3. Pour the batter into muffin trays lined with paper cases and bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

From Annabel Karmel’s Complete Party Planner

Egg on Toast with a Difference!

You will need:

What to do:

  1. Cut a hole in the centre of the bread using a heart shaped cutter.
  2. Melt the butter in a small frying pan and sauté the bread on one side till golden.
  3. Turn the bread over, melt an extra knob of butter in the cutout and break the egg into it.
  4. Cook covered for about 2 minutes or so.
  5. Dip the cutout heart in a little beaten egg and sauté that too for an extra touch.

From Annabel Karmel’s Complete Party Planner

What’s going on?

An egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water. It’s the proteins that cause the egg white to solidify when you cook it. Egg white proteins are long chains of amino acids. In a raw egg, these proteins are curled and folded to form a compact ball. Weak bonds between amino acids hold the proteins in this shape—until you turn up the heat. When heated, the weak bonds break and the protein unfolds. Then its amino acids form weak bonds with the amino acids of other proteins, a process called coagulation. The resulting network of proteins captures water, making a soft, digestible gel.

From
http://www.exploratorium.edu/
cooking/eggs/eggscience.html

See Also the Planet Science Diner:
http://www.planet-science.com/outthere/
diner/why/de_protein.html

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